Low seroprevalence of equine piroplasmosis in horses exported from the Netherlands between 2015 and 2021

Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease affecting horses, donkeys, mules and zebras, caused by the intracellular apicomplexan protozoa Babesia caballi and Theileria equi . The geographical distribution of EP is closely related to the distribution of its vector tick species belonging to the genera of Dermacentor, Rhipicephalus and Hyalomma . Since the discovery of Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in 2007 and the first reported autochthonous cases in the South of the Netherlands in 2012, no data on the (sero)prevalence of EP in horses in the Netherlands have been reported and it remains u... Mehr ...